The Reasons Heart of Midlothian's Landmark Title Tilt Isn't as a Surprise.

JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the only unexpected element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which taken aback people seemed when news of the outcome and its consequences for the top of the standings emerged. Although this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos leading of the table and eight points ahead of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been following the progress of either squad this season will have been in the least astonished by the final score.

Over the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish league between them, turning fitba to something of a punchline in the meantime. Several matches into the current campaign it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – might just be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

Although much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at Ibrox has resulted in that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been allowed to worsen below the radar. The reigning champions have so far dropped 10 points from their opening nine league games this season under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly checking his Google calendar to find out how many time are left until his contract ends, and awoke this day to learn the answer is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time here," he informed reporters following the defeat, after they had doubted his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is present to attempt to flip the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the horrific beginning to the campaign being endured by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his players could typically be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own failure to start strongly, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the mix. In spite of being forced to function with a war-chest that is not just a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the money and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership equation. In addition to investing £10m during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted the club sole use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting player identification system.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to discover hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at their home venue on Sunday wearing a club colours, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be observed cheering each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely realized the oddsmakers had massively underestimated his team's prospects of beating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said bearded Hearts gaffer the head coach after his team's latest success, their eighth win in nine outings. "It might be for others on the periphery. It could alter perceptions. It might validate views that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the lads have given us. Technically, we look in a strong position, and certainly in fitness we seem in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Naturally, this is not a situation that this club is used to being in." Correct, Derek, it is not. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the initial occasion in many years, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that a team other than Celtic or Rangers can win.